Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...
Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...
Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...
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Chapter 5: Surah <strong>al</strong>-Ma’idah<br />
(O Messenger! Make known that which hath been reve<strong>al</strong>ed unto thee from thy Lord…) [5:67].<br />
Said <strong>al</strong>-Hasan: “<strong>The</strong> Prophet, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘When <strong>Al</strong>lah, ex<strong>al</strong>ted is He, sent<br />
me as His message, I felt oppressed by it, for I knew that some people will give me the lie’. <strong>The</strong> Messenger<br />
of <strong>Al</strong>lah, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him peace, was apprehensive of the Quraysh, Jews and Christians, and<br />
so <strong>Al</strong>lah, ex<strong>al</strong>ted is He, reve<strong>al</strong>ed this verse”.<br />
Abu Sa‘id Muhammad ibn ‘<strong>Al</strong>i <strong>al</strong>-Saffar informed us> <strong>al</strong>-Hasan ibn Ahmad <strong>al</strong>-Makhladi> Muhammad<br />
ibn Hamdun ibn Kh<strong>al</strong>id> Muhammad ibn Ibrahim <strong>al</strong>-H<strong>al</strong>wani> <strong>al</strong>-Hasan ibn Hammad Sijjadah> ‘<strong>Al</strong>i<br />
ibn ‘Abis> <strong>al</strong>-A‘mash> Abu’l-Hajjab> ‘Atiyyah> Abu Sa‘id <strong>al</strong>-Khudri who said: “This verse (O Messenger!<br />
Make known that which hath been reve<strong>al</strong>ed unto thee from thy Lord…) was reve<strong>al</strong>ed on the day of ‘Ghadir<br />
Khumm’ 23 about ‘<strong>Al</strong>i ibn Abi T<strong>al</strong>ib, may <strong>Al</strong>lah be well pleased with him”. 24<br />
(<strong>Al</strong>lah will protect thee from mankind) [5:67].<br />
Said ‘A’ishah, may <strong>Al</strong>lah be well pleased with her: “<strong>The</strong> Messenger of <strong>Al</strong>lah, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him<br />
peace, stayed up one night and so I said: ‘What’s the matter, O Messenger of <strong>Al</strong>lah’ He said: ‘Is there not<br />
any righteous man who would stand to watch over us tonight’ <strong>The</strong>n we heard commotion caused by<br />
arms and the Messenger of <strong>Al</strong>lah asked: ‘Who’s there’ ‘It is Sa‘d and Hudhayfah, we have come to keep<br />
watch over you’, came the response. <strong>The</strong> Messenger of <strong>Al</strong>lah, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him peace, went to<br />
sleep, and he slept so deep that I heard his snoring; this verse was then reve<strong>al</strong>ed. <strong>The</strong> Messenger of <strong>Al</strong>lah,<br />
<strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him peace, then popped his head out of the collar of his garment and said: ‘O<br />
people, you can leave, for <strong>Al</strong>lah has protected me’ ”. 25<br />
Isma‘il ibn Ibrahim <strong>al</strong>-Wa‘iz informed us> Isma‘il ibn Nujayd> Muhammad ibn <strong>al</strong>-Hasan ibn <strong>al</strong>-Kh<strong>al</strong>il><br />
Muhammad ibn <strong>al</strong>-‘<strong>Al</strong>a’> <strong>al</strong>-Himmani> <strong>al</strong>-Nadr> ‘Ikrimah> Ibn ‘Abbas who said: “<strong>The</strong> Messenger of<br />
<strong>Al</strong>lah, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him peace, used to be guarded. Abu T<strong>al</strong>ib used to send every day men<br />
from the Banu Hashim to guard him until this verse was reve<strong>al</strong>ed (O Messenger! Make known that which<br />
hath been reve<strong>al</strong>ed unto thee from thy Lord) up to His words (<strong>Al</strong>lah will protec thee from mankind). And<br />
so when his uncle wanted to send with him people to protect him, he said: ‘O uncle! Indeed <strong>Al</strong>lah has<br />
protected me from the jinn and humans’ ”.<br />
(Thou wilt find the most vehement of mankind in hostility to those who believe (to be) the<br />
Jews) up to His words (But those who disbelieve and deny Our revelations, they are owners<br />
of hell-fire) [5:82-86].<br />
<strong>The</strong>se verses were reve<strong>al</strong>ed about the Negus and his followers. Said Ibn ‘Abbas: “When he was in Mecca,<br />
the Messenger of <strong>Al</strong>lah, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him peace, used to fear the idolaters’ persecution of his<br />
Companions. He therefore sent Ja‘far ibn Abi T<strong>al</strong>ib and ‘Abd <strong>Al</strong>lah ibn Mas‘ud, at the head of a group of<br />
his Companions, to the Negus. He said: ‘<strong>The</strong> Negus is a righteous man; he is not an oppressor and none<br />
is oppressed in his dominion. So head toward him and remain there until <strong>Al</strong>lah creates relief for the<br />
Muslims’. When they went to him, the Negus honoured them and then asked them: ‘Do you memorise<br />
anything of that which was reve<strong>al</strong>ed to you’ <strong>The</strong>y answered in the affirmative and then recited to him<br />
[some Qur’an,] with monks and priests surrounding him. Whenever they read a verse, the tears rolled<br />
down their cheeks due to the truth which they recognized. <strong>Al</strong>lah, ex<strong>al</strong>ted is He, says: (That is because<br />
23<br />
Upon returning from his farewell pilgrimage in the year 10/632, the Prophet, <strong>Al</strong>lah bless him and give him peace, stopped at a<br />
location c<strong>al</strong>led Ghadir Khumm, which is situated between Mecca and Medina, and there he delivered a sermon which is known<br />
as hadith Ghadir Khumm. Different variants for this prophetic saying exist and the Sunnis and Shi‘ah draw different conclusions<br />
from it. <strong>The</strong> Shi‘ah claim that in the sermon of Ghadir Khumm, the Prophet had clearly and unambiguously appointed ‘<strong>Al</strong>i ibn Abi<br />
T<strong>al</strong>ib as his successor. This claim is rejected by the majority of Muslims.<br />
24<br />
Durr, :117.<br />
25<br />
Qurtubi, :244.<br />
97
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